Alice Cooper and his band rocking the BMO Harris Pavilion on the Summerfest grounds in Milwaukee on October 1, 2021.

October 4, 2021

On September 1, 2021, the Summerfest music festival started up again in Milwaukee after a one year absence due to COVID-19. It was great to be back in the house!

This blog is on one of the MANY bands I photographed.  Night Ranger who played on September 3, 2021.

Night Ranger has been around in various forms since 1979. Jack Blades keeps the band rocking. The show is high energy and the guys really work it as you can see in the photos.

They were working the crowd with some of their legendary songs like "Sister Christian".

I will let the photos do the talking now. Enjoy a look at them having fun and sweating it out while rocking the house with possibly more energy than what they had in 1979!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Night Ranger, ROCKING the Summerfest grounds on September 3, 2021.

The great band from Texas, ZZ Top at Summerfest on 9-11-2021

September 20, 2021

Summerfest just finished it's third and last weekend of fun and music after no music festival last year.

One band that has been on my bucket list to photograph is ZZ Top. I've now photographed the guys three times and love to see what the guitars and drum kits look like because they different for each tour.

Bass guitar player, Dusty Hill, passed away not too long ago and before he died, he ordered the band to keep on going after his death!  So, Elwood Francis is the new bass player. He was their guitar tech for over 30 years and fits right in.

Prior to COVID-19, Elwood did not have a beard! He didn't shave during COVID and so he now has a beard to equal Dusty and Billy!!

Enjoy a look at some great guys with some interesting looking guitars and drum kit. As the drum kit says on the bass drum, "Aged to Perfection"! I have to agree!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

February 22, 2021

This week we take a peak at Buddy Guy playing at Summerfest here in Milwaukee in 2009.

I've seen Buddy Guy play 3 times and he is classic bluesman who is so good!

He was born in 1936 and continues to play and tour.  Every January, he takes a break from touring the world and just plays at his club, Buddy Guy's Legends, in Chicago.

Buddy has influenced so many people but a couple major artists are Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Jeff Beck.

Born in Louisiana he came up to Chicago in 1957 and tried to get his music going in the right direction, which is the blues. A lot of people didn't care for his music because it had supposedly too much of a rock influence. They would say that it was a bit too harsh.

His big voice has helped him in his solo career. Before going solo he was getting experience with Muddy Waters and the Chicago club scene.

In 1958, a guitar competition in Chicago with Otis Rush and Magic Sam gave him his first record contract for winning the competition. Buddy can play guitar with the best of them and win.

Keith Richards and the Rolling Stones love to tour with Buddy and have even come to his club in Chicago to play with him.

Jeff Beck and Buddy have become very good friends and have played together on a few Buddy Guy records.

Enjoy a look at Buddy Guy at Summerfest in 2009 when he brought a great band as usual. The other guitar player you will see is Ric "Jazz Guitar" Hall who can spin is guitar 360 degrees while playing! The only other person I've seen do that is Billy Gibbons of Z Z Top.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Buddy Guy having fun at Summerfest in 2009! One of the best ever bluesmen!!

December 21, 2020

On December 12th, we all lost another friend and great musician in Mr. Charlie Pride due to COVID-19 at 86 years old.

In 1972 at Milwaukee's Summerfest, I photographed him and chatted with him backstage for quite a while. He was a very nice gentleman to talk to and had quite a career.

Along with his pedal steel player, Gene O'Neil, we talked about music, baseball and of course pedal steel guitars. At the time, I was trying to learn how to play one.  It's not easy! I failed hugely!!!  I'll stick to photographing musicians rather than being one!

Charlie Pride's baseball career is quite interesting. He was a great pitcher until an injury made him lose the "mustard" as a pitcher. In 1953 he was with the Yankee's Class D team in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and later that season he played in the Negro League with the Louisville Clippers. He became an Honorary Milwaukee Brewer in 1970. He also played with multiple teams in the minors.

Charlie and Jesse Mitchell were two baseball players that were traded to the Birmingham Black Barons for a team bus! They were probably the only players to have that kind of trade in baseball!

Even with the injury, Charlie tried out for the California Angels in 1961 and the New York Mets in 1962, unsuccessfully. He later became part owner of the Texas Rangers.

He taught himself how to play the guitar at age 14 and had a great career writing some really great songs. Charlie became the first black country music player to be successful. He sold more records for RCA Records than anyone other than Elvis Presley.

"Just Between You and Me" plus "Kiss an Angel Good Morning" are probably his most popular songs and my personal favorites.

In 1974 I was able to photograph Mr. Pride at Summerfest again but didn't get the chance to chat with him. He was getting quite popular and getting better each time he played.

Going to miss you Mr. Pride. RIP and prayers for you and your family.

Enjoy some photos of Mr. Pride from 1972 at Summerfest.

Thanks,

Rich ZImmermann

November 9, 2020

For my last blog I cleaned up a lot of old images of Joe Walsh from 1971. So, I figured I should keep working on Joe Walsh photos and cleanup some of my favorite photos from Summerfest 1973 and some of my favorites of Joe!

It was in 1973 when Joe Walsh had his band, Barnstorm ,with Joe Vitale, Rocke Grace, and Kenny Passerelli

When I took these photos, I could not move from the spot I had secured because it was so crowded. If I could have moved, I would have pictures of the drummer and bass player! Joe Vitale is such a great drummer and Kenny Passerelli a great bass player.

Enjoy a look at Summerfest and Joe in 1973. I cleaned them up a lot but a few could use a little more work!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

May 18, 2020

May 12th would have been George Carlin's 83rd birthday. George passed away on June 22, 2008 and left us with some of the best comedy routines ever performed. He was making appearances right up to the end of his life.  He had just finished an HBO special and was working on another. George appeared on the Johnny Carson show multiple times and even hosted it more than once. He also hosted Saturday Night Live and to this day is the only host to not do any skits during the show. That was his idea.

The early 1970's were very good to George and afforded him his own private jet for getting to shows and back.  He made several albums as the clean dressing short haired comedian, then he transformed his look to long hair and jeans.

The seven words that you cannot say on television became his trademark, especially when he got arrested performing that routine at Milwaukee's Summerfest on July 21, 1972.

I was at that show and the photographs here are from that night!  One picture shows him being hauled off the stage to be arrested! I'll never forget that night.

The stage manager was a friend of mine. He quickly emptied out his pockets that contained cocaine and marijuana before the actual arrest that some people were enjoying!  Otherwise, the arrest would have been even worse!   That full story will be in my upcoming book that I am currently working on.

Those seven words can be said in my blog though!!  They are- shit, piss, cunt, fuck, cocksucker, motherfucker and tits!! I think I have heard a few of those since 1972 on television, haven't you?

Check out some of his You Tube classic video shows.

Here are some of my photos of that wild night in 1972.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann